Human Resources Management Policy

Leave Transfer Program

Policy 48

NOTE: THIS POLICY, LIKE ALL OTHER MUSC HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES, IS NOT A CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS SUCH. THIS POLICY MAY BE CHANGED AT ANY TIME BY THE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

  1. POLICY
    Employees in permanent positions who work at least one-half time may be authorized additional paid leave, after all accrued leave has been exhausted, for personal emergency situations through the leave transfer program. Employees who are in permanent positions and accrue leave may transfer annual and/or sick leave into a leave pool for use by employees in need.

  2. INFORMATION AND PROCEDURES
    1. Key Terms and Definitions
      1. Leave Donor - An employee whose voluntary written request transfers accrued annual and/or sick leave to the leave account of either (or both) pool(s).
      2. Leave Recipient - An eligible employee who has a personal emergency and has no accrued annual or sick leave, and is approved to receive annual and/or sick leave from either (or both) pool(s) leave account.
      3. Personal Emergency - A medical or family emergency or other hardship situation that is likely to require an employee's absence from duty for a prolonged period of time and will result in a substantial loss of income to the employee because of the unavailability of accrued leave. The minimum criteria established to be categorized as a "personal emergency" for the purpose of leave transfer are outlined in Paragraph II. B. below.
    2. Minimum Criteria for a "Personal Emergency"
      1. The employee must have experienced a medical or family emergency or other hardship situation that is likely to require the employee's absence from duty for a prolonged period of time and will result in a substantial loss of income to the employee because of the unavailability of accrued leave.
      2. A personal emergency is limited to catastrophic and debilitating medical situations, severely complicated disabilities and severe accident cases - each of which would require a prolonged period of recuperation. Routine disabilities or disabilities resulting from elective surgery do not qualify for leave transfers.
      3. A "prolonged period" as used in paragraphs 1 and 2 above is generally interpreted to be a minimum of thirty (30) working days. The employee must have been on leave without pay for at least thirty (30) working days or documentation must certify a medical emergency will result in the employee being on leave without pay for this length of time.
      4. Employees who become eligible for other paid benefits for periods of absence from work will generally be considered ineligible for leave transfers. Examples of other paid benefits include, but are not limited to, workers' compensation, long term disability, and disability retirement benefits.
      5. All earned annual and/or sick leave, as appropriate, must have been used prior to using approved transferred leave.
    3. Eligible Employees
      1. Leave Donor - All employees except as noted below who accrue annual and/or sick leave under State leave guidelines may donate (transfer) leave to the leave pools. (Note: The faculty annual leave policy is an institutional policy and not governed by State guidelines. Therefore, faculty members may not donate annual leave but may donate sick leave. Temporary grant employees cannot donate or receive leave from the leave pools.)
      2. Leave Recipient - All employees in permanent classified and unclassified non-faculty positions, who are established to work at least one-half time (50%), may participate in the annual and/or sick leave transfer program. Eligible faculty may request transfer of sick leave (only) the same as classified employees.
    4. Donating Leave (Donor)
      1. Annual Leave - An employee may voluntarily request in writing by completing the Leave Donation Form (attached) that a specified number of hours of his or her accrued annual leave be transferred to the Annual Leave Pool; such leave may be distributed to leave recipients who are approved for use of this leave according to provisions contained herein.
      2. Sick Leave - An employee with more than 15 days (120 hours) sick leave accrued may voluntarily request in writing by completing the Leave Donation Form that a specified number of hours of his or her accrued sick leave be transferred to the Sick Leave Pool; such leave may be distributed to leave recipients who are approved for use of this leave according to provisions contained herein. However, an employee may not donate sick leave that would result in his or her sick leave balance being below 15 days (120 hours) after the donated leave is deducted.
      3. An employee may donate no more than one-half of the annual and/or sick leave he or she accrues within a calendar year to the appropriate pool account for that calendar year.
      4. An employee wishing to donate leave to the annual and/or sick leave transfer pools must do so prior to December 1 of each calendar year.
      5. Once leave of an employee has been donated and transferred, it cannot be restored or returned to the leave donor.
    5. Requesting Leave (Recipient)
      1. An eligible employee with a personal emergency may request annual and/or sick leave from the appropriate pool account by completing the Leave Transfer Request Form (attached).
      2. An employee requesting leave for medical reasons for self or family (to assist an ill family member) must also include a signed statement from a physician. The statement should include pertinent information regarding the medical condition, prognosis for recovery, and estimated return to work date.
      3. There is no limit to the number of separate requests that an employee may submit; however, each request shall be limited to no more than 30 days (240 hours).
    6. Approval Process
      1. The completed Leave Transfer Request Form, along with other supporting documents, should be given to the employee's immediate supervisor who should sign the form and discuss his or her recommendations with the department head or designated representative. The department head or designated representative should indicate his or her recommendation, sign and send the form through appropriate channels to the Department of Human Resources Management, Attn: Classification and Compensation.
      2. The Department of Human Resources Management staff will review the request to verify the request meets the eligibility criteria as defined in II.B. If additional information or clarification is necessary the respective supervisor or department head will be contacted. If the request does not meet the minimum criteria the respective supervisor or department head will be notified in writing.
      3. The Department of Human Resources Management will forward requests which meet the eligibility criteria to the President or his designee for consideration. If approval is recommended the request will be forwarded to the State Division of Human Resource Management for final action. The requesting employee's departmental business officer or supervisor will be notified of the approval or disapproval as soon as possible.
    7. Use of Annual or Sick Leave
      1. When the selection of a leave recipient has been approved in accordance with these guidelines, action will be taken to transfer all or any portion of the annual leave pool to the annual leave account of the leave recipient and all or any portion of the sick leave pool to the sick leave account of the leave recipient.
      2. Upon approval of a request, an employee may use annual and/or sick leave from the appropriate pool account in the same manner as if the employee had accrued the leave.
      3. Annual and/or sick leave approved for transfer may be substituted retroactively for periods of leave without pay which occurred since the Leave Transfer Request was initiated.
      4. Annual and/or sick leave, as appropriate, that accrues to the account of the leave recipient must be used before using any leave from a leave pool.
    8. When Emergency Terminates
      1. The personal emergency affecting a leave recipient ends when the department head or supervisor determines that the personal emergency no longer exists or the leave recipient's employment terminates.
      2. The department head or supervisor should monitor the status of the personal emergency affecting the leave recipient to ensure the leave recipient is not permitted to receive or use transferred annual and/or sick leave from a pool account after the personal emergency ends. When the personal emergency ends, further requests for transfer of leave to the leave recipient's leave account will not be approved.
      3. When the personal emergency affecting a leave recipient ends, any transferred annual and/or sick leave remaining to the credit of the leave recipient must be restored to the appropriate pool account. The department should immediately notify in writing the Department of Human Resources Management Classification and Compensation Section in order to restore the unused leave to the appropriate pool account.
    9. When Employment Terminates
      Transferred annual and/or sick leave from a pool account remaining to the credit of a leave recipient when the leave recipient's employment terminates must be restored to the appropriate pool account. When employment terminates, transferred leave from a pool account may not be transferred to another employee, be included in a lump-sum payment for accrued leave, or be included in the leave recipient's total service for retirement benefits computation purposes.
Approved by:

Information Contact

Effective Date
Charlene G. Stuart

Vice President for Finance & Administration

CLASSIFICATION AND COMPENSATION SECTION

Revised June 1993